[Toxicological studies of pepleomycin sulfate. V. Short term intermittent toxicity in dogs (author's transl)].

The comparative studies in the short term intermittent toxicity of pepleomycin (NK631) and bleomycin (BLM) were performed on 10 beagle dogs of 13 approximately 15 months old. Two dogs per group were injected intravenously with NK631 and BLM in doses 5.0 and 2.5 mg/kg body weight every fourth day for 11 treatment. Two dogs served as control and were injected with saline solution. In the group of 5.0 mg/kg of NK631, one dog was sacrificed on day 37 of the treatment and another one dog died on day 33 of the treatment. All the dogs of other group survived until the end of the treatment. The toxicity to the hepatic and renal damage caused by NK631 was stronger than the BLM. On the contrary, the toxicity to lung and various mucocutaneous regions was weaker than the BLM. The grade of pulmonary fibrosis of NK631 was about 1/2 and 2/3 of the BLM in dose of 5 mg/kg and 2.5 mg/kg, respectively. Other toxicological changes such as anorexia and weight loss were almost similar to the BLM.